OF INTEREST TO SCOUTS

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 65, 8 June 1927, Page 14

OF INTEREST TO SCOUTS

Says an English writer: —“Some men are still young at seventy—full to the brim of the zest of life —while others are old at thirty. What a truly Divine endowment is that gift of perpetual youth of spirit which mocks at the calendar. “There is no finer living example of the boy-man to-day than Lieuten-ant-General Sir Robert Stephenson Smythe Baden-Powell, the genius from whose brain sprang the Boy Scout movement, of which he is still the life, the soul and the inspiration. “Moving among the Scouts, the Chief Scout is a boy among boys. Keen and well-knit, jaunty and debonair, and as active as many men not half his age, quick of eye, deft of hand, alert of movement, he is the embodiment of his own theories. “The secret of his limitless influence over the young is his transparent honesty and infectious spontaneity. There is not a grain of humbug in his whole make-up—and what makes an irresistible appeal to boys is the fact that he practises a great deal more than he preaches. “If he advocates keenness, he sets the example; and if he urges the importance of the harmonious development of mind and body—and heart — he shows how it can be done.” Scouting is now a world-wide movement. There is not a civilised country where Scouts are not to be found — from China to Peru. Even the lonely island of Tristan da Cunha has its troop, and it cherishes a flag presented by the Chief Scout. At the International Scout Conference held last year at Kandersteg, in Switzerland, there were representatives of thirty-three different nations. On Sunday last, June 4, representatives of a number of Auckland troops attended a King’s Birthday and Empire Day service held in St. Matthew’s Church, Hbbson Street. The Rev. Canon Grant Cowen officiated and preached an eloquent sermon on the meaning of Empire and the duties implied by true citizenship. It being the anniversary of the death of Lord Kitchener, the congregation stood for several minutes with bowed heads in memory of the great soldier. Reference was made to the honour conferred on the Chief Scout among this year’s Birthday Honours—the Grand Cross of St. Michael and St. George. A Scouters’ social and dance was held in St. Matthew’s Hall last Saturday evening, when about 50 couples gathered and spent a very happy time. Some new competitions are announced in to-day’s Wigwam page, and I hope you will all let me have your opinions on the great subject of Scouting. The Waterview Boy Scouts rallied in srong numbers at the Methodist Church last week-end to participate at a well-organised social. A varied, musical programme and games quickly put them in a happy frame of mind. During the evening Commissioner Grigsby presented the warrant of scoutmaster to Mr. L. Money and an assistant scoutmaster warrant to Mr. S. Kielly. The programme comprised items by the Boy Scouts, Mrs. Talton, Miss Kerr. Miss O. Thwaites and Master J. Dewer. —REDFEATHER.

e Answer to Ridde-me-Ree: Badene Powell. T l IN THE PHILIPPINES S y The people of the Philippines consist _ mainly of wild jungle-dwelling negrito I race called Aetas (from a Malay word meaning “blacks.” or as we should generally say “negroes”), and two waves of brown Malayan peoples, the first of which arrived before, and the latter after, its own conversion to Islam. Great numbers of these people are still half wild, but are gradually being civilised. The bow with poisoned arrows is the i principal weapon of the Aetas, though blowpipes are also largely used. The Filipino is liberty-loving, and the United States Government had to suppress a formidable insurrection under a Filipino leader called Aguinaldo, when they took the islands from the Spaniards during the Spanish-Ameri-can War. The Filipino women are extremely clever in weaving garments from hemp and other vegetable fibres, and a fine silk-like cloth is even manufactured from the fibrous leaves of the pine-apple. A common form of personal decoration is the blackening of the teeth to prevent them from looking white, “like dog’s teeth.” Also the front teeth are sometimes filed into points in order chat they may look like the teeth of sharks or tigers. Besides the hemp and pineapple (and of course the rice plant), many kinds of fruit trees • are grown in the islands, including bananas and coconuts. The method of transport is a large raft made entirelv of floating unhusked coconuts.